last minute to columbus

friday night was spent driving to columbus for an emergency trip to columbus. the emergency? leslie withdrawal. the cure? stupid, pointless fun. highlights of the 24 hour mini-trip:

1. funk/motown band - although the band was FANTASTIC, the five dollar cover was well-spent because it afforded me one straight hour of people-watching. oh boy, the people. i have never considered myself "fashionable," or "really, really, ridiculously good-looking," but five minutes in a dublin bar changed all of that. not only did i see a man dressed in a shirt buttoned-down to his belly-button with a fake fur coat and a fake tan, but countless 50-ish women in clothes meant for a 20-year old. a 20-year old from 1988. on her way to a hair-metal concert. jeesh.

2. funk/motown band 2 - overheard in the ladies room: "i mean, i was married for 24 years! and now i am divorced! i should have been divorced 20 years ago!" this may not have been as funny if it were not for two things - the woman said this exact sentence to everyone that walked into the ladies room, and leslie's mental signals to me not to laugh.

3. pho for breakie - a fix was needed.

4. rufus - leslie's dog is adorable. i had not seen him since he was a pupster, and he was in love with me to boot.

5. King of Kong - great, great movie. mostly because brian kuh was the best henchman i have seen since Philip "Showy" Showalter Hench.

senior picture

matt didn't choose this one, but i stole the proof because i loved it so! now it is online tee hee!

the birthdays

the kids had a collective birthday party this year, which makes sense because they are both young and their birthdays are less than two weeks apart.

penelope would not smoosh her hand or face into her cake. i hope she does not become high maintenance.

jonas had a blast hanging with all of the other kids. it is not often that there are a bunch of kids under five gathered together at linsey's house (good reason - space issues) and he was in his glory.

halloween

halloween has come and gone. although i was looking forward to handing out candy at my house, i was slightly pleased to have the opportunity to take the kids trick or treating with my sister. i can only imagine what it would have been like if she was by herself, as jonas was an absolute madman. at every house, he insisted on having a five minute conversation either with a dog, the person handing out candy, or the various pumpkins and halloween decorations near the front porch. highlights of the evening:

1. at one house, jonas (dressed as a dragon) was instructed that if he roared as a dragon, he would recieve an additional piece of candy. after he roared, and received the aforementioned candy, he proceeded to roar for more candy as all of the adults laughed.

2. penelope, not doing much real trick or treating, was only pushed up the driveway in her stroller when there were no stairs involved. an older woman handed her a king sized chocolate bar emblazoned with a "Jesus Loves You" sticker. auntie amii, the person-who-should-never-have-children that she is, did not take the candy bar away from her. five minutes later, linsey grabs the chocolate away from her, and examines the corner of the bar, missing, paper and all, with little penelope's face covered in chocolate.

3. the weather. in my life, i have been through snowy halloweens, freezing rain, bitter wind, etc. never have i ever walked outside for two hours on the last day of october with no jacket on (stuffed under my costume or over my clothes). ever. it was absolutely gorgeous, and having all of the candy-hander-outers sitting outside created a completely new experience.